Secret Apprentice
by kamefootninja
Summary: During Robin's unwilling apprenticeship he discovers that he's not the only teenager that Slade has working for him. But who is this boy? And why is he working for Slade?
1. Chapter 1

Robin was so angry at Slade that he didn't even see what he ran into, or _who _he ran into.

He'd half expected to see _him _standing there, he had a habit of appearing out of nowhere, and as far as Robin knew, he was the only other person here. But it _wasn't _Slade who they had literally bumped into, in fact they didn't even know who this person was.

Clearly the other had been knocked back by their collision as well, but unlike Robin, he'd somehow managed to catch himself on the wall to stop himself from falling.

The boy looked a little bit younger than the spikey haired hero. Soft curly blond hair had fallen in front of their face, obscuring his eyes, he was a little shorter, and slimmer built than Robin. The plain clothes he was wearing didn't look like he had been training, or going on missions like him: a white short sleeved T-shirt and light blue denim jeans, both clean but very slightly splattered with paint.

Once he got his breath back the blond smiled sheepishly and offered his hand to help the confused titan stand up, using his other hand to push back his hair and reveal big bright sea-green eyes. He didn't know why, but Robin could sense that the boy was different somehow, and he definitely didn't seem like he fit in with the dark gloomy clock tower Slade was keeping them in.

As soon as Robin found his feet the boy raised a hand into a fist and rubbed his chest. Robin didn't really understand what he was doing, maybe he'd hurt his chest in their collision? But the look on his face showed that both of them were just as surprised to see another person here.

"Joseph!" Slade's cold voice was unmistakable from the other side of the clock tower, stern, and leaving no room for arguments as usual.

The other boy's head quickly snapped to the direction of the mercenary's voice. Giving an apologetic smile before hurrying off down the corridor, Robin knew from experience that it wasn't a good idea to keep Slade waiting.

But who was this boy? Was Robin not the only person Slade had blackmailed into working for him. It was hard to believe anyone would be here willingly. But he'd never seen him before, he wasn't any hero or villain that he was aware of, so why did Slade have him here? He seemed too gentle and kind for Slade to have any interest in, Robin knew better than to assume a person after just meeting them, he couldn't explain why, but he felt like he wanted to trust that boy.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Robin saw Joseph was a few day's later, he was stood there when they showed up for a mission briefing. This time the boy was wearing dark navy bottoms, a white loose long-sleeved shirt under a purple tunic style jacket. purple boots with golden cuffs on the top to match the one's around his wrists and a thick golden belt.

"Jericho, I trust by now you know who this is?" Slade's cold calm voice asked as the former titan leader walked into the room. Addressing the surprised blond stood next to him.

Joseph, or Jericho as he was apparently also called, looked confused for a moment, taking in the teens full appearance. Robin hoped he didn't recognise him. He'd been trying not to be recognised as Robin. But apart from messing up his hair more, his face looked the same, with the same domino mask hiding his identity, which Slade had allowed him to keep.

The boy stared at him for a few more seconds, head tilted slightly, big expressive green eyes sparkling in curiosity. His eyes suddenly widened, quickly turning to Slade and suddenly drawing an 'R' on the side of his chest in answer.

"Very good. I have taken Robin as my new apprentice." Joseph's hands were balled into fists and Robin could tell by his face that he'd already guessed he wasn't there of his own free will. "I trust you can 'Show him the ropes'?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

Joseph just nodded once and looked towards the floor, without a word, refusing to meet Slade's eye or look at Robin. It was easy to tell he was angry at this new information, but he didn't try and object or fight Slade, and the man pointedly ignored the blonds frustration.

"Joseph will be accompanying you on your missions from now on." Slade's eyes narrowed in Robins direction, while Jericho just looked surprised with this arrangement, staring up at Slade in disbelief. "He will report everything that happens direct to me." They knew him well enough to recognise the threat - If they tried to escape from him, or did anything he didn't approve of, there would be consequences.

Joseph sighed but knew there wasn't any point in arguing, just nodded his head again to show that he understood, hands folded in front of him and trying to not show that he was uncomfortable with the new development. He didn't try and argue with Slade, he just accepted the fact that he had to do whatever he was told. He'd obviously been here for a long time, and Robin couldn't help but wonder what Slade's threatened him with, to force him to be this obedient.

He made a promise to himself that no matter how long he was kept there, that he would always keep fighting him. He couldn't leave because Slade held his friends lives in his hand, but he had to wonder what blackmail the mercenary had on this quiet blond boy to make him stay?

Joseph stood there in silence for the entire mission briefing, occasionally nodding his head when Slade told him certain techniques and procedures he was supposed to teach Robin, but he hardly even looked up.

They were both given separate missions in the same building. Jericho was to steal top secret files from one of the lower floors and disable security for the top floors, making it easier for Robin to steal a prototype sample of medical nano-bots.

After silently studying the electronic blueprints they were supposed to memorise, Joseph pointed out a wire leading out from the buildings security section, heading in the opposite direction to the police station.

"Star Labs is under Titan protection. Anything suspicious happens it sets off the main alarm in the tower." It hadn't taken long for Robin to recognise the layout of the building, they'd been with Cyborg one to many times not to, even though Slade had been very vague on where Robin was being sent.

"Then you better hope Jericho remembers to disable that as well."

Joseph put his hand on the darker teens arm and gave him a warm smile. Something in his eyes seemed to be asking him to trust him and Robin just nodded before turning back to the blueprints. Not like he had a choice anyway. He'd been pretty lucky so far, having not run into the titans once since 'joining' Slade, but he know as soon as he did he'll have to fight them as if they're enemies. And now he had someone else on missions with him to work around.

"You have two hours to eat and dress for training."

Jericho took this as a dismissal and turned to leave, but when Robin went to leave, his arm was suddenly caught in a vice-like grip. Slade's eye was narrowed and dangerous, looking down at Robin with a stern calculating look.

"I trust you to behave yourself until then Robin."

"Yeah." He blink in surprise. Slade's always made it perfectly clear that he was always watching him. Did that mean he was leaving the clock tower for a while? Or did he think that him and Jericho together were going to cause trouble?

"Jericho will show you to the kitchen and accompany you to training. Is that clear." Turning back towards the door where Joseph was standing, apparently waiting for Robin with a curious look between him and Slade.

"Yeah." Robin repeated, slightly stunned. This was the most freedom that he'd been allowed, usually Slade had a robot bring food to his room or wherever they were during their less physical training sessions. He didn't give him free roam of this place, He'd always been very restricted to a few rooms he deemed necessary for him to access. Mainly the training and bathrooms, and his bedroom that as far as he can tell, was at the opposite side of this place to where Slade slept, if indeed he did sleep.

"Yes, what?" Slade taunted.

"Yes…Master." Robin growled out as he released his arm. He knows how much he hated calling him that, so of course he had insisted on it. He also knew that he'll listen to him for as long as he hold the detonator threatening his friends lives. "May I leave now?"

"You may." You couldn't see his face underneath his mask but he was sure Slade was smirking.


	3. Chapter 3

Joseph led the way in complete silence to a part of the tower Robin hadn't seen before. The corridor was sectioned off into different parts, until today Robin had been very restricted to only a few rooms, with rare exceptions when he was escorted to a different room for training session. Perhaps that is how they managed to not see or bump into each other until recently, they had their own sections of the clock tower they were held in.

However it seemed like Jericho knew this place well, he didn't hesitate or look around to try and study things like Robin was, he obviously got to walk around the tower a lot more freely than the imprisoned titan, because it seemed like a familiar, uneventful thing for him. It didn't take long before they stepped into a room that was obviously a makeshift kitchen.

All the metal cabinets were old and rusted, half of the bulbs in the industrial-style overhead lights were either broken, missing or continuously flickering. The toaster, microwave, small fridge and metal chairs were obviously new, looking out of place in the old, run-down building. It seems like Slade hadn't wasted time refurbishing the clock tower, but rather just brought in enough to live off of. Which meant that this was most likely a temporary base, probably so Robin couldn't find him again if he managed to escape.

Jericho made a vague hand gesture to the room that Robin assumed meant for him to help himself. He watched as the blond calmly walked over to one of the cupboards, taking out a few pieces of bread and placing them in the toaster.

Apparently this was an everyday occurance for him, having free rein to walk around and make food himself instead of waiting for a bot to deliver food to your locked room. Perhaps that meant that Slade was relaxing his tight control on Robin, giving him a slightly longer leach knowing that he wouldn't escape. Though of course, Jericho could have just been assigned his keeper, watching him and reporting back any suspicious activity he saw directly to Slade. For some reason though, he felt like like Joseph wasn't there just to spy on him. They had both been just as surprised to see each other, and he didn't immediately know that the dark haired apprentice was Robin.

The blond apprentice didn't take his eyes off the dark haired boy though, silently watching as Robin searched around the kitchen for anything that he could use to escape, while pretending to look for food. But Jericho didn't seem to be keeping an eye on him the way Slade did, he just looked curious, and mildly amused, rather than suspicious.

Eventually giving up on his search for anything useful, Robin grabbed a box of cereal and a dish before heading over to the fridge for some milk. Joseph was already buttering his toast and Robin cursed himself for not noticing where he got the knife from, He assumed that Slade had hidden the knives, along with anything else that he could have used as a potential weapon.

"So, where do you keep the cutlery around here?" He asked as naturally as possible.

Jericho just shook his head and smiled. Slade probably told him keep him away from sharp objects, but at least this time he actually had an excuse.

"Does Slade really expect me to eat cereal without a spoon?" He muttered in a sarcastic deadpan. Not having access for knives is one thing, but really, Robin would have to improve a hell of lot to escape with just a spoon. Frankly if he managed that, then he imagined Slade would be impressed, which only made the thought more bitter.

Joseph just grinned and passed Robin a spoon that he must have had on the side of his plate, because he definitely didn't open any drawers or cupboards. Apparently already a step ahead of him, because Robin had no idea how he'd managed to get any cutlery without him seeing.

"Thanks." Maybe he'd seen though that one, but it was worth a try anyway. There wasn't much he could use as a weapon, but now he knew that things were kept from him, he could start trying to look for anything slightly out of place where things could be hidden.

They sat down to eat, still in silence, before Robin decided that he might as well find out more about his apparent new partner. He was at a disadvantage. People knew Robin the boy wonder, either as Batman's sidekick or the leader of the titans, but he knew nothing about this strange boy working for Slade of all people.

"You don't talk much do you?" Might as well start with the obvious. The boy hadn't said a word, or even made a sound since they bumped into each other. Not an awkward introduction, or even agreeing or giving input during the mission briefing.

Smiling sadly the boy just shook his head, bringing two fingers up against the high collar of his shirt to tap his throat twice before taking another bite out of his toast.

"What, you're not allowed to talk?" It would make sense, if he's been here for awhile then anything he told him about Slade or this place could aid Robin in his eventual escape.

Shaking his head again, Joseph paused, like he was considering if he should say anything at all. But slowly, He nervously pulled down the high neck of his shirt to reveal the thick scar across his throat. As soon as he was sure Robin had seen it, he quickly pulled the collar back up, hiding it from view once again.

"Oh." Robin cringed slightly at the thought of having something like that happen. "Sorry. I didn't realize." He wanted to ask questions, how it happened, who did that to him, but he knew that wasn't his place to ask. Still, a cold shiver washed over him at the thought of Slade being the once to silence the boy for good.

Joseph gave an awkward smile and tried to wave it off. Apparently it hadn't offended him, but he seemed grateful not to have any follow up questions. It was only after a few more moments of awkward silence that he decided to try and start a conversation again. This time raising his hand to use sign language.

_**Do you speak A.S.L?**_

"Yeah, not quite fluent in it though." Robin confessed, though he seemed happier to know that they could at least communicate. Silently thankful that Batman had insisted on him learning so they could communication silently on patrols, though he wished he paid more attention right now.

"So, how's Slade keeping you here?" He asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

The sudden awkwardness from Joseph, and the way he shifted in his seat told Robin that it wasn't the right thing to say. But just as Robin was about to apologize, Jericho shook his head, apparently not able, or just unwilling to reveal the reason he was here.

"Right… I take it you've been here Awhile though?" There was something unsettling with how Slade had interacted with the boy, too familiar, like it was all old and routine dealing with eachother. Or perhaps Slade didn't feel he needed to control Joseph the way he did Robin, maybe Jericho was loyal, or he had juet learnt his place over time. Slade didn't treat the boy as harshly, or mock him the way he did his new apprentice. Joseph didn't even have to wear Slade's colour or logo, which Robin was convinced was just to add to his humiliation, and remind him that he belonged to the man while his friends lives were on the line,

With a sigh Joseph nodded, giving a sad smile at admitting that he has been here for a long time. He hesitated before bringing his hands to sign again, slowly, like he was second guessing if should be saying anything at all.

**Almost a year**

A year? He had been with Slade for that long! Robin, who studied and obsessed over Slade to the point of masquerading as a villain to get his attention, had never seen even the slightest hint that Slade might not have been alone all that time.

"Im sorry…" Robin had to wonder if Joseph had tried to escape before, he'd been there so long he had to have tried, but the fact he was still here might not bode well for Robin's own attempts. Slade held such a strong hand that Robin didn't know how he could get out of this and still save his friends. "At least we're not alone now." He didn't mean it as bitterly as it sounded, but maybe together they could come up with a way to take down Slade, but for now, they had to be good little soldiers and follow orders.


End file.
